SpaceWatch Global
• Judith Delany
At the International Space Summit, Astrolab’s Manny Shar discusses the company’s effort to develop a lunar rover in just 17 months. The project highlights the pace, engineering demands and commercial ambitions shaping the emerging market for lunar mobility systems.
Commercial Space
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FLEX and Sentinel-3C are set for launch aboard Vega-C from French Guiana, while Airbus and Unseenlabs won a contract for France’s next SIGINT satellites. Separately, Cailabs is advancing shared optical ground infrastructure with a new service and an Eutelsat cooperation agreement, as Satellogic expands its constellation.
ColliMate Space has demonstrated its Nexus software autonomously managing satellite downlinks onboard a spacecraft, marking the Silicon Valley startup’s first in-orbit demonstration. The milestone points to a potential shift toward more automated satcom operations, reducing the need for continuous ground-based orchestration of spacecraft communications.
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At the International Space Summit, Astrolab’s Manny Shar discusses the company’s effort to develop a lunar rover in just 17 months. The project highlights the pace, engineering demands and commercial ambitions shaping the emerging market for lunar mobility systems.
Exolaunch said Sept. 14 it secured capacity for rideshare payloads on two upcoming launches, one involving a Japanese rocket. The agreements add launch opportunities to Exolaunch’s manifest as the provider continues arranging shared-launch access for satellite customers.
The Department of the Air Force has awarded nuclear microreactor startup Antares a $161 million contract to develop and demonstrate a nuclear reactor for spacecraft. The award advances U.S. efforts to mature space-based nuclear power for future missions.
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The economics of low Earth orbit constellations may hinge less on launch prices than on custom silicon and shared terminal architectures. The design choices could shape cost, scalability and competitiveness across networks ranging from Starlink to Europe’s planned IRIS² constellation.
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NOAA selected 14 providers under a new commercial environmental data framework designed to expand the agency’s use of satellite information for U.S. weather forecasting and space-weather monitoring. The arrangement formalizes a broader role for private-sector data in national environmental intelligence.
Thales Alenia Space, the Thales-Leonardo joint venture, has signed a contract with Nigeria’s government-owned NIGCOMSAT Ltd. to develop NigComSat-2A, a geostationary telecommunications satellite intended to expand digital access for underserved communities and support connectivity demand among African households, businesses, public institutions and industries.
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